Asian Games 2010: Bangladesh win first ever cricket gold medal NEWS STORIES RELATED TO:

UANGZHOU: Teenager Shabbir ahaman Roman smashed two ixes in the penultimate over to elp Bangladesh to a first Asian ames gold and dash fghanistan's hopes of a fairytale inish in yesterday's men's cricket inal. Chasing Afghanistan's 118, he 17-year-old's swashbuckling 3 not out swung the Twenty20 atch in Bangladesh's favor and hey won with three balls to pare, sparking wild celebrations s players rushed with billowing lags on to the ground and mbraced. e played like tigers today," the reen-eyed and wiry Rahaman oman told Reuters. "This is the appiest day of my life," added he teenager. The Afghan ricketers, mostly ethnic Pashtun rom the country's southeast, ere stonefaced after the loss. The Afghanistan people are aybe very sad," said Asghar tanikzai, his team's top-scorer n the day with an unbeaten 38. The silver medal is not (a) big edal but it was a good fight. ith the country's expectations eighing heavily on Afghan houlders to bring home a first sian Games gold, their opening atsmen appeared nervous at he crease. Kazi Shahadat ossain's standout fast bowling nsettled the opening order and he first wicket went for just one un. A great diving catch near he boundary by Nazmul Hossain ismissed vice captain Karim han Sadeq. A gutsy innings by tanikzai, however, spurred fghanistan to a respectable 118 fter a middle-order collapse hreatened to leave t e team with a paltry score. The angladeshis, dressed in green, ost their first wicket in the third ver when opener Nazim Uddin cooped a high shot into the ands of Samiullah Shinwarai. HOWED METTLE he Afghans, who bowled and ielded aggressively, showed their ettle when Mohammed Mithun as run out in the eighth over ith a superb throw from the utfield. With the game poised n a knife edge, however, ahaman Rohan stepped orward, surviving a close lbw all, before swatting two straight ixes into the pavilion, sparking ild cheers by green-clad angladeshi supporters and hinese fans. For the small ontingent of Afghan supporters, ome wearing skull caps, there as disappointment but also race in efeat. "The world knows us for ighting, bombs and bullets but e want to make sure to the orld that we are not these hings only," said Abdul Khan, aving a large green, red and lack flag in the stands on a cool nd sunny afternoon. "We just eed a chance. And definitely I an assure you that our next lympics or Asian Games, we will o for gold again. ricket has become an creasingly popular sport in fghanistan with a number of cademies sprouting up across he wartorn and insurgency racked land after the game was troduced by Pashtuns who earnt to play in Pakistan refugee amps during the Russian vasion in the 1980s. In the ronze medal match, Pakistan eat Sri Lanka by six wickets to estore some pride after they ere beaten in the semi-finals by fghanistan on Thursday. akistan won gold in the omen's competition with angladesh taking silve . -

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